Ghost Story of Liaozhai

Li Zhijun from Changshan once went to Qingzhou. On the way, he met six or seven merchants, whose accent sounded like Yandi people. These merchants had scars the size of copper coins on both cheeks.Li Zhijun was surprised, so he asked why. The merchants said: Last year we went to Yunnan to do business. We lost our way at dusk and broke into the mountains unknowingly.Dangerous rocks and cliffs, no way out.

There is a big tree in the valley, covering more than an acre of land with thick shade, and its branches are several feet long, drooping.The night was long, and we had nowhere to stay, so we tied our horses to a big tree and rested next to it.In the middle of the night, tigers howled and wolves howled, eerie and eerie, everyone hugged into a ball, not daring to close their eyes.

Suddenly a giant came from a distance, more than ten feet tall, came to the side of the big tree, stretched out his giant hand, killed the horses one by one, tore the horse's flesh with both arms, and devoured it raw.In an instant, none of the six or seven horses were spared, and they ate cleanly.

After the giant finished eating the horses, he stretched out his hand and broke the branches, captured everyone, pierced their cheeks with the branches, and strung six or seven merchants together.

After the giant disappeared, everyone drew out their sabers, cut off the branches, and ran for their lives in pain.Before he had escaped a few paces, the giant went and returned, this time bringing a companion with him.Everyone was terrified and hid in the bushes one after another, not daring to make a sound.

The giant companion was four or five meters tall. The two came under the tree and walked back and forth, obviously looking for everyone.The companion searched for a while, but there was no sign of them. He was furious and shouted like a bird, and asked sharply, "Where is the prey?" The giant was trembling, not knowing how to answer.The companion jumped into a rage, bowed left and right with both hands, and slapped the giant seven or eight times. The giant nodded and bowed, with a respectful attitude, and did not dare to resist at all.

Suddenly, the two left angrily.Everyone hurriedly got up from the grass and ran away in a hurry. They didn't know how long they had been running, but they saw a fire on the mountain, and a stone house was nearby.The host came out to welcome us, and everyone flocked into the room, talking about our experience. The host invited us to sit down and said, "These two monsters are very hateful, but I can't deal with them. When my sister comes back, ask her to come out." , great things can happen."

Not long after, a woman came back from hunting with two giant tigers on her shoulders. Everyone asked her to kill the monsters. The woman said, "Since these two monsters are so fierce, they must be eradicated." It weighs three or four hundred catties and goes out.

The master cooks tiger meat for everyone. The tiger meat is not yet cooked, but the woman has returned, and said: "Just now I fought a monster, chased it for dozens of miles, and cut off a finger." Speaking will take out a severed finger, Throwing it to the ground, the severed finger was huge, as thick as a leg bone.Everyone looked shocked and asked the woman's name, but the woman smiled and did not answer.After a while, the tiger meat was overcooked and fragrant, and everyone was hungry, but their cheeks were injured and the pain was unbearable, making it difficult to eat.The woman took out a pack of medicinal powder from her bosom and asked everyone to smear the wound, and the pain stopped.

At dawn the next day, the woman sent everyone away and came under the big tree. The salute was still there, and it was not lost.Everyone put their backs on their backs and saluted, and set off to return to their hometown. They walked for more than ten miles, and the women saw each other off along the way.Passing a barren mountain on the way, the woman said: "This is where I fought the monster last night." I saw blood stains on the stones, gathered in a pile, at least there was a big basin.